They're 10 minutes a piece, so to hear them all you'll want to carve out 145.5 days of uninterrupted listening time. (If only I had started as soon as I received the link, I could have wrapped up my sonic immersion on New Year's Eve.)

Taken a bit at a time, you can use these snippets to form a fascinating soundtrack to your day. Put on headphones and travel back to spring for a midnight visit to a vernal pool. Wonder what the same peeper chorus sounds like underwater? Now you know.

Last week we set up acoustical equipment in 12 locations throughout the reserve, typically about 40 feet off the trails. The equipment will create an ecological soundscape of habitats… mapping sounds of animals and other living things (biophony), sounds coming from wind in the trees, rain, and the ocean (geophony), and sounds of jet planes, people talking, trains, gunshots, and lawnmowers (anthrophony). Together, these recordings will help describe our environment over time… who is there, who is missing, what is disturbed, what has changed.

Will these soundscapes reveal habitats of vitality or quiet? What changes happen over time? Is the food web diminishing or increasing with new animals, returning animals? Are the sounds different from year to year, day to day, month to month, season to season?

Join or Renew

As a member, you support education, conservation, and research.
As a member, you enjoy free admission and special discounts.